This park, (let’s call it Mud Pit RV Park) was supposed to be our home in the Redwoods for 6 weeks. But, within 5 minutes of arriving, we knew this place wasn’t going to work. Since we didn’t know if/how/when we’d be able to find and move to a new park, we settled in for one week and tried to make the best of it.
When you live, work, and home school from an RV park, there are few minimum requirements; and this park failed on each one:
Internet Access
This park had free, unlimited wi fi when we made our reservation, but changed to a pay-per-usage policy before we got there. Metered internet is a killer if your job is online, and we couldn’t rely on our AT&T plan because there was no service. They gave us 2 gigs for free, but it still left a sour taste in our mouth.
Phone Service
We have lived on the road off and on for 3 years, and have never been in a park without AT&T. I don’t know if we just got lucky or not, but phone service was never an issue before this park.
Since we couldn’t use internet as an alternative (Skype, etc.), we ended up driving an hour to Eureka to buy a new phone with a Verizon plan.
The Ability to Do Laundry
The only time we have ever been without laundry facilities was when our washer/drier broke in the apartment we rented in Spain. When Ed tried to do laundry at this place, he noticed that the water was barely trickling in. He told the manager who said, “yeah…we don’t know why it does that. Just fill it up with a bucket from the faucet.”
So, Ed (bucketless) hooked up the hose to fill the washers. Suddenly, a maintenance guy (who was apparently in the process of fixing things), ran in and yelled at Ed for using the washers. Suggestion…Maybe try an “out of order” sign next time.
Ed had to then take the soaking/soapy laundry out of the washers, load it into the truck, and drive a half an hour to the nearest laundromat. Big pain in the bottom.
A Place to Work
Whether it is in a tent next to the RV, on a table in the park office, or at a picnic table under the fifth wheel hitch; I always manage to find a quiet place to work where the boys and I don’t distract each other. I am UNBELIEVABLY flexible about my work environment, but this place was almost un-workable.
There wasn’t room for a tent, and there was a giant mud puddle under the hitch. The constant rain prevented me from being able to work anywhere else outside. The tiny park office was filled with boxes and not big enough for more than one person.
When I asked if there was any place I could sit and work out of the rain, I was told: “The bathrooms have heated floors. You might be able to work in there.”
Um, no. I have low standards, but I’m not working in a bathroom.
At least an attempt to stave off the mud
I know they can’t help the rain…This has been an unbelievably long and wet rainy season, and the park is located right next to a river.
But, that’s the thing…If you own/manage an RV park on a river, you know that mud and flooding are going to be an issue. The RV spots weren’t paved, and what little gravel was there was ungraded.
We spent a week sloshing around in mud puddles, and tracking in enough dirt to create our own island.
Know Your Role
Honestly, for tent camping, this wouldn’t have been a bad place. When you tent camp, you expect to rough it. You know you’re going to get muddy, you don’t anticipate access to a washer/drier, and having a bathroom with a flushing toilet is icing on the cake.
But, the requirements for RV’ers are different, especially if you’re full-time. You can’t just get stinky and dirty for a weekend and then go home, clean up, and stay clean.
Going forward, we are going to be wary of any RV parks with “camp” in the title.